Presenting in morning assembly this week are the following, we hope parents will join us if their schedules allow!

Thursday, March 14: Maren Giese will present about women in government.

AGES & STAGES COFFEE HOUSE

Inspired by parent suggestions that we continue to offer opportunities for parents to discuss issues of teaching, learning, and parenting, and in particular questions about developmentally appropriate strategies, Michelle has planned the following coffee house event for Tuesday, March 12 at 5:30 pm, open to Riverside families: Ages & Stages: a conversation with parents and professionals about what to do when.

Special guests will include:

Dr. Amanda Van Straten is a Neurologist practicing at NVRH. She has a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Florida State University. She completed her medical degree at the University of Oklahoma where she also completed a four-year residency in neurology. She completed additional training in neurophysiology at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Scott Fournier LCMHC, MS, VTRostered Clinical Mental Health Counselor and has worked with children, teens and families for over 20 years. He works with issues of depression, anxiety, trauma, family issues and spectrum disorders. He uses mindfulness, cognitive behavioral and internal family systems techniques and therapy dogs.

Sheryl Cole, MED, M.A., VTRostered Clinical Mental Health Counselor, received a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and a Master’s of Education in Special Education from Westfield State University in 1987, and a Master’s of Science in clinical mental health counseling from Springfield College in 2016. She has been working with children and families for over 30 years.

We are excited to take our youngest students downhill skiing and snowboarding this year! We are very grateful to the preschool parents who are all attending in order to make this possible. Some details for preschool families:

Miss Heidi sent an email to all parents with many of the logistical details explained and specific questions she needs you to answer. Please reply to her ASAP if you have not already.

We will depart for skiing from Riverside at 12:30 on Wednesdays, March 13 and 27.

Cost of lessons and lift tickets is included in Riverside's program, but rentals ($9 + $5 for a helmet) will be billed to your school store account.

Parents are encouraged to attend the lessons with their children. On the JBar lesson parents will need ski/snowboard gear. On the Red/beginner lesson parents will be standing on the snow in front of the very short hill, so no need for gear.

FOOTLOOSE!

Play Week will be March 25-29, during which there will be no academic classes and a complete focus on the students' production and rehearsal effort. Performances are Friday, March 29 at 7:00 pm and Saturday, March 30 at 2:00 pm at Lyndon Institute Auditorium. Admission is by donation. This show is appropriate for all ages, please invite your friends!

Future Memos will have much greater detail, but some things to note on your family schedules for now:

6-8 Pick Up is at LI on Thursday, March 28 at 3:30 pm.

PreK-8 Pick Up is at LI on Friday, March 29 at 3:00 (PreK-5th gr) and 3:30 (6-8th gr)

There will be no After School Program for any PreK-8th graders on Friday, March 29 as they're all dismissed from off campus./

6-8 Call Time to prepare for the performance on Friday, March 29 is 5:00 pm

6-8 Call Time on Saturday, March 30 is 12:00 pm

We need some help from our supportive community to bring this show to life. If you can assist with one of these tasks, please let Nelia know:

sharing skills in painting or constructing with the sets elective during the day during play week

trucks and drivers to help take sets and costumes to LI on Thursday, March 28 at 10:30 am.

trucks and drivers to help take sets and costumes back to Riverside on Saturday afternoon, March 30

PI DAY

We look forward to celebrating the relationship between the circumference and diameter of every circle in the world on Pi Day, this Thursday, March 14! The schedule is as usual on a Thursday, with some dedicated conversations and lessons happening at different times during the day.

Traditionally we have also celebrated with pie at morning break time. If you're willing to bake one to share, we'd be so grateful, please let Nelia know. Please put your name on any dishes you need to have returned.

K-3 SWIMMING

K-3rd graders will begin their swimming adventures this Friday, March 15 at St. Johnsbury Academy. Students should bring their suits and towels to school. They will take a bus at 1:30 and be in the pool with Nelia (who is a certified instructor and lifeguard), SJA staff member Sandy Lazerick, as well as other rotating Riverside staff.

We need the help of another male parent to help Dave LaRocque supervise the boys' locker room. This would mean being with us at SJA from 1:45-3:15. If you can assist, please let Nelia know.

Mark your calendars: pick up for K-3 students is at 3:15 at the back door of the SJA pool (around/behind/below the field house) on March 15, 22, April 5, 26, and May 3, 10.

RACE BACK TO SCHOOL INFORMATIONAL EVENING

Our parent organizing committee for the 2nd Annual Race Back to School (August 18) is already hard at work reflecting on the inaugural year, setting goals for 2019, and delegating leadership roles to other willing parents. The event is a walk-run-bike-athon for youth, families, and visitors to the Kingdom Trails.

A major goal for this year is to increase participation among other area schools and youth development organizations. To further that effort, we will host an informational event in the Barn on March 19 at 5:00 pm for members of such groups to learn more about how they can participate in the Race Back to School and raise money themselves. Please help us out by sharing this event with anyone you know who works with young people and would appreciate a fundraising opportunity.

PARENT-TEACHER-STUDENT CONFERENCES

On Wednesday, March 20, PreK-8th grade students will be dismissed at 12:30. Preschool will hold its conferences later in May, but that class is still having the half-day as they keep a consistent schedule with the rest of the school. The After School Program will begin at that time.

Thank you to the Shackleton, Markey, Engle, and Adams families who volunteered to bring in some snacks to sustain the faculty through the long afternoon!

ELEMENTARY PLAY

"The fifth grade is excited to announce that the elementary musical has a title: The "Heroes" of Aldorvia. Since December, they have been working on plot, characters, conflict, music, writing, editing, and so much more, and this week the script finally goes to print. Stay tuned for information on ways you can help us get the show ready for its premiere performance on Elementary Play Day, Tuesday, May 7.

VCAP STANDARDIZED TESTING

Students in grades 3-8 will be engaged with computer-based standardized testing during the weeks of April 1-11. 3-4th graders will have time to practice working with the online testing interface and to discuss that experience before they formally begin.

Each student then will have about 5-6 hours of testing over two weeks, using as much time as they want/need to take it. If students are absent during that time, they may miss class time later on in order to make up missed testing sessions. If you have any questions about this, please contact Nelia.

SERVICE LEARNING FOR AREA ANIMALS

One of the Destination Imagination teams is working on a collaborative service project to support the Lyndon Dog Pound. Cindy Cady who runs the pound actually needs a lot of help getting rid of unwanted donations, and so the students would like to help her sell them for funds that she could better use to help care for the animals.

If you want a free dog/cat crate, or know someone who does, please contact Cindy at 626-PAWS. This would be very helpful to her because she has over 50 crates and is trying to clean them out!

If would like a dog bowl, for a donation of $5 to the Dog Pound, please email Mel Finn.

CATAN CLUB

Begins today, 3:45-4:45. Thank you to the Daffinrud Family for lending your game to this experience!

ROBOTICS CLUB

Robotics Club is not meeting today or March 25. Parents, please stay tuned for communications from Henry/Maryellen about how/when the club will schedule its final meetings.

KARATE

5-8: Wednesday, 3:45-5:00

K-4: Thursday, 3:45-4:45

Note that there will be no Karate on Wednesday, March 20, Thursday, March 21, Wednesday, March 27, or Thursday, March 28.

LATIN CLUB

Latin Club will meet Thursday from 3:45-4:45. Note that there will be no Latin Club on March 28.

DESTINATION IMAGINATION

The Tournament in Burlington is coming right up! Parents should be getting emails from team leaders about the details for Saturday, March 23, and additional team meetings in the coming weeks.

Registration is Live for this year's 48 Hour Student Film Slam, April 26th - 28th, taking place in St. Johnsbury, VT. This event is FREE and open to Middle School, High School and College teams - with or without previous film making experience. Middle School and High School teams can opt to sign up for workshops designed to provide the skills necessary for a successful weekend, and are able to borrow a production kit and use an editing station during the event, as well!